1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to printers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sensor in a printer for detecting the presence of a protective tape on a printer cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
New print heads and printer cartridges that include ink, such as ink jet printer cartridges, are usually supplied from the manufacturer with a piece of protective tape affixed thereto. In ink jet print heads and printer cartridges, the protective tape is typically applied over the nozzle plate to protect the nozzles from drying out and inadvertently leaking ink. The protective tape can also be used to protect the electrical contacts and terminals on the cartridge from damage. The protective tape must accordingly be removed from the printer cartridge prior to installation of the printer cartridge into the printer in order for the ink to flow for the printing function.
The installation instructions for the cartridges therefore direct the user to remove the protective tape prior to installation of the print head in the print head carrier, however, the printer users still often mistakenly install the printer cartridge onto the print head carrier with the protective tape still in place on the printer cartridge. The protective tape consequently prevents the printer from printing and users commonly believe that the printer is malfunctioning, instead of associating the problem with the unremoved protective tape. With the mistaken belief that the printer is malfunctioning, the printer users often contact the customer service center of the printer manufacturer and vendor to seek servicing of the printer. It can thus be seen that the simple failure to remove the protective tape generates unnecessary calls to the customer support centers of the manufacturer and vendor of the printer which adds cost to the printer assembly process and decreases the resources available for other significant customer service calls.
Thus, a method and apparatus that can detect the presence of the protective tape on a printer cartridge and notify the user of the printer of the presence of the protective tape would be advantageous. It is to the provision of such an improved method and apparatus that the present invention is primarily directed.